I Love You A Latte a Percabeth coffee shop AU
by ShutUpPercy
Summary: Percy's just your regular barista, and Annabeth your regular university girl, popping in to Starbucks every day to get a drink and work on her course. It would be unlikely for them not to bond.


It was raining again. Percy could just see it from where he worked, adding hot water to various shots and remembering to _smile smile smile_ at the grumpy businessmen barely looking at him as they ordered espressos and the young teens giggling and batting their eyelashes as they ordered _a caramel frap with extra whip, please._ He had to hide the urge to throw the extra whip at them.

He glanced up as the door closed for the hundredth time that hour, and fought back a smile. It was her again, her ponytail dripping slightly with rain, the rucksack that held her Mac plus about twenty heavy books slung over her shoulder. He mouthed something to her - _latte?_ \- as she made her way across the counter, and she grinned and nodded. She paid him quickly before going to the pick-up counter, and Percy hesitated for a second before writing his number in place of her name - he knew it anyway. She'd told him off harshly enough when, just after her move from San Francisco to New York, he'd spelled "Annabeth" with one "n".

He thought he saw her smile as she looked at her cup.

"You're working, Percy!"

Percy jumped before glaring at his co-worker, Rachel Dare. He always wondered why she worked here - her father was incredibly rich, a property developer, and she was working at Starbucks in NYC. Go figure.

"Thought you were Reyna for a minute," he grumbled, referring to the manager. She was okay, but very strict and keen on discipline, and it miffed him that she was a couple of months younger and had such a good job.

Rachel smirked. "You were meant to," she said, glancing at the phone. "Who are you even texting?" He tried to stuff the phone away but she'd already seen the name.

"Rachel-" he didn't understand why he didn't want her to know. Rachel kissed him _once_ \- a _year_ ago - and he didn't even like her in that way. Rachel only grinned.

"I _thought_ you wrote your number on that cup the other day!" Her eyes were sparkling. "Only you would be that cheesy."

"Shut up." He stuffed the phone in his pocket and served a customer, barely paying attention as a woman placed her order. He probably misspelled her name - blame dyslexia - but he forced the cup into her hand and retreated to the back of the store again.

I feel like we haven't really talked to each other in real life…

It was Annabeth, and she was speaking - typing? - the truth. He'd given her his number three days ago, and she'd texted him the moment he got home. They'd been talking constantly since then, but when she came in to get a coffee and write her essays, they'd only exchanged shy smiles. He glanced at his colleagues again - Rachel was pouring a hot chocolate and the rest were taking orders or scribbling on cups - then replied.

same, texting doesn't really match up

The "read" symbol popped up immediately beside his message, but she didn't offer a reply. Maybe he hadn't said what she wanted, or maybe he was overreacting. He took a deep breath.

do you want to come over to mine tonight for a movie or something?

The "read" symbol appeared below this as well, but so did the "typing" animation. He grinned at her response.

Sure, what time?

"It's working!" Jason groaned, pushing the power button on the Blu-Ray player to prove his point. Percy sighed.

"Are you meeting up with Piper?" he asked, before Jason teased him about his nervousness.

His flatmate nodded. "We're going out for dinner. I'll probably be back at, like, half ten?" Percy glanced at his watch: 6.42. He'd asked Annabeth to be there by seven. Jason got up to leave the sitting room. "Don't make too much of a mess," he said, his tone so suggestive that Percy aimed a kick at him.

"We've barely talked, and she's coming over for a movie, Jason. A movie."

Jason only grinned. "Sure, bro. See you later."

Percy waited until the door had closed before entering the bathroom and glancing at his reflection in their mirror. A nice-ish t-shirt and jeans. He hadn't wanted to seem too dressed up - it was just a movie on the couch, after all - but he hadn't wanted to look like he'd just rolled out of bed, either. He wasn't sure if it had worked, but there was no time to change.

He wandered into the kitchen and checked the food. A bag of microwave popcorn - he stuck that in the microwave and set the timer. A couple of bottles of fizzy drink and glasses - no wine. Both him and Jason had had problems with alcohol (or more accurately, their parents had) and due to that, neither of them drank. He wasn't going to change that for Annabeth. He tipped the bag of blue M&Ms into a bowl, wondering if she'd notice that he'd picked up the special edition pack. He wondered why he cared. It was free chocolate for her - it shouldn't matter whether it was blue or not. The microwave dinged and he tore open that bag, letting the scent of buttered popcorn waft through the apartment as he poured it into a bowl and checked it wasn't burnt. Satisfied, he checked his watch again. 6.59. Percy walked back to the hallway and waited.

A beeping resounded through the flat and he tried not to run to the intercom.

"Hello?"

"Don't act like you don't know who I am, Seaweed Brain."

"Sure, Wise Girl."

He heard a chuckle as he buzzed her in and waited at the door. It was seconds before she knocked.

"Hi."

"Hi."

Percy moved aside to let her in, glancing at her. Annabeth had managed the kind-of-dressed-up-but-not-really thing a lot better than he had, with skinny jeans, a flowery top, an owl necklace glittering on her throat and her hair half-pulled up. She looked even more beautiful than she was on her ordinary days at the Starbucks down the road.

He smirked. "Seaweed Brain?"

She shrugged. "You don't act like your head's filled with anything else."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "You're so charming."

"Thanks."

He hid a smile as he showed her the living room, where the sofa lay invitingly in front of their large TV. Jason was an apprentice electrician, and took that as an excuse to buy outrageous technology.

Annabeth glanced around the room appreciatively, her gaze falling on a table cluttered with framed photographs, a habit Percy had got from his mom. Her eyes widened a little. "You know Jason Grace?"

He glanced at her. "He lives here. We're flatmates."

She moved closer to the table, switching focus from a picture of Jason on his graduation day to a group photograph at a waterpark. Percy was obviously the most soaked of them all - he'd been an eager swimmer since he was young. Jason's arm was around Piper, and Leo Valdez, a mechanic that had become friends with Jason from university, grinned at the camera. Nico di Angelo, a funeral director ("It's the family business," he'd mumbled when they asked him about it) stood next to his boyfriend Will Solace, a doctor. Nico's half-sister Hazel Levesque (a jewellery shop owner) was holding hands with her boyfriend Frank Zhang (a zoo keeper). The photo had been taken a couple of months ago.

"Really? Piper McLean is one of my best friends." she pointed at another photograph that Percy had sneakily taken of her on the beach. The photo had turned out well, so he'd naturally had it printed to embarrass her.

"Well, it's a small world." Percy realised that anything that went wrong on this date would probably get back to Jason. Fun.

She grinned and sat down on the sofa, tucking her bag beside her.

"So, um, do you want Pepsi or Coke? Or lemonade, or Mountain Dew, or just water…"

Annabeth raised an eyebrow at the choices. "Coke, please."

Percy quickly brought the food into the sitting room and took a seat beside her, trying to gauge whether he was sitting too close or far away. Her expression didn't change, so he judged it okay to start the film.

They didn't talk for a while, apart from murmurs of "pass the popcorn" and "do you want more Coke?". About halfway through, Annabeth shuffled closer, leaving Percy confused as to whether she'd been uncomfortable or if she wanted him to do something. When she cautiously placed a hand between them, he wasn't sure if he jumped on the chance to hold it too quickly, but she didn't seem to mind.

After a while, he coughed. "So what are you studying?" _she could be writing a novel, you idiot, or emailing someone, or-_

Annabeth smiled. "Architecture. I'm almost done with my course, I'm hoping to get a contract with a decent company."

"Everyone I know has such professional jobs, and I work at Starbucks," he complained lightly.

She chuckled. "Nothing wrong with Starbucks."

"No," he agreed. They watched in silence for a few more minutes.

"We barely know each other, tell me something about you." she said eventually.

Percy waited a few seconds before answering. "Well, my full name is Perseus Jackson, and I've lived in New York City all my life, unless you count boarding schools." He paused, but Annabeth just nodded. "I like swimming, and was going to do it professionally until I got a bad injury when I was what, seventeen? So I'm at Starbucks now."

She flashed him a sympathetic look. "Well, I'm Annabeth Chase, and I've moved around a lot since I was younger," she said, following Percy's template. "I read a lot, and am a big fan or monuments and stuff, so I study architecture. You know that."

The movie came to an end too quickly, and Percy made sure that she had money for a cab before smiling all the way through washing the bowls and glasses.

The next day, Percy's mood dimmed as he made his way to the morning shift. The smile was plastered on his face all the way through filling cup after cup with overpriced sugar and chemicals, and Rachel noticed.

"You met up with her last night, right?"

Percy flushed then played dumb. "Her?"

"Annabeth. And you just can't wait to go home and text her."

Percy rolled his eyes. "I had her round for a movie, okay?"

Rachel opened her mouth to say something before squinting at the door. "Speak of the devil," she grinned, marching back to her till. Percy looked up to see Annabeth push the door open, free for once of her heavy backpack. He raised an eyebrow as she skipped the queue.

"When does your shift end?"

His gaze flickered to the clock. "Twenty minutes. If you're ordering, you have to get in line," he smirked.

Annabeth huffed. "Well, it's lucky I'm not. I'll meet you outside." She cast a curious glance at Rachel before heading back out of the shop. Confused, Percy continued serving the next customer.

"She asked you on a date," Rachel explained condescendingly as Percy hung up his apron.

Percy didn't know whether to protest or lie that he knew that. "How would you know? She might be giving me a book or something."

"Enjoy that fantasy while I work for another two hours," she muttered, glaring at Reyna. The manager was scowling at them from across the shop. Percy grinned.

Annabeth was leaning against the wall, a Kindle in her hand, when he finally emerged from the shop.

"Hey."

She looked up and smiled. "Hey."

"So, why am I to meet you out here?" he asked carefully, trying to make it sound carefree and not as confused as he actually was.

Annabeth looked mischievous. "I didn't want to go to Barnes and Noble alone?"

"A bookstore? Seriously?"

She smirked. "Do you want to come or not?"

It was as good a place as any to start a conversation, Percy decided, falling into step with her.

"Tell me about your family," she said eventually. She was cautious, as if she knew it might be a touchy subject and was ready for that possibility.

Percy took a deep breath. "Well, my dad was only with my mom for, like, one summer. He was lost at sea. My mom married this guy, Gabe, when I was young, but he was really abusive and stuff… she finally divorced him when I was twelve. Then she met another guy, Paul, and they're married now. I like him, I guess. I have a half-brother from my dad called Tyson, but that's it. My mom's parents died in a plane crash when she was young." He wondered if he was going too fast for having barely talked to Annabeth, but she didn't seem phased.

"My mom left when I was young, I've seen her a couple of times since then. She's a university lecturer. My dad remarried when I was a bit older, and I have two step-brothers. I've only recently got close to my dad again - our relationship was… rocky through most of my childhood."

Percy nodded as they reached the bookstore. Annabeth visibly brightened as they reached the door, and Percy couldn't help smiling.

She picked book after book, occasionally asking Percy if he'd read this or that. Eventually, he sighed.

"I don't read a lot," he admitted. "I have dyslexia, and…"

Annabeth shrugged. "I'm dyslexic. Doesn't stop me."

Percy glanced at her, but she had already wandered to another shelf.

Ten minutes later, they left, Annabeth clutching a bag filled with no less than five heavy history books. Percy offered to carry them for her, and she refused politely. He asked again, and she rolled her eyes and gave him the bag.

"So where do you live?"

She told him the address and he nodded. "So not too far from my place."

Annabeth glanced at him. "You don't have to walk me home."

"I'm going to," he shrugged.

Annabeth smiled and slipped a hand into his. Percy froze for a second then squeezed it. Somehow, it changed from a slightly romantic gesture into a competition to see who could squeeze the hardest without triggering a reaction.

Finally, they reached Annabeth's apartment and Percy let go of her hand. She looked a little sad as she fished in her bag for her keys.

"So… see you?"

Percy nodded. "I'm working tomorrow," he said, then remembered that she came into Starbucks every day. She knew what days he worked.

Annabeth nodded slowly. "Okay."

He had no idea why he did it. They'd been on two dates, if you could count them as that. Their interaction aside from the past two days had been smiles and how-are-yous daily at Starbucks. But he leaned forward a litte and kissed her. Just quickly. Her face flushed, and he rushed to apologise, but she smiled.

"See you, Seaweed Brain."

"See you, Wise Girl."

He stared at the lobby door for a long time after she'd went inside.


End file.
